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A car maneuvers through the intersection of Orben Drive and Shippenport Road in Landing on Sunday as snapped utility poles await repair

The JCP&L webpage showing nearly 70,000 customers still without power on Monday afternoon

TRENTON, NJ - Noting that thousands of North Jersey residents and businesses, including many in Roxbury, remain without electricity following last Friday's snowstorm, three Republican state lawmakers today called on Gov. Phil Murphy to declare a state of emergency.

Murphy, a Democrat, wasn't biting.

“The Governor continues to monitor the damage and outages caused by the nor’easter," said Murphy's press aide, Alyana Alfaro, when asked for a response to the lawmakers' request. "Every relevant state agency is working with the utilities to assess all options for restoring power as quickly as possible to all that remain impacted by the storm.”

In their letter to the governor, state Assemblymen Anthony Bucco of Morris County, Kevin Roony of Bergen County, Parker Space of Sussex County and Christopher DePhillips of Bergen County pointed out that another storm is predicted for March 7, one that could bring up to a foot of snow to the northwestern counties they represent.

"New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo declared a state of emergency in four New York counties, where about 136,500 people were still without power Sunday afternoon," Bucco said in a statement. "Pennsylvania’s governor activated the National Guard while Virginia and Maryland declared states of emergency on Friday."

Murphy has shied away from taking that action but he's been using Twitter to comment on the matter, insisting the state government is empathetic and doing all it can to help. For example, he tweeted today that "Four days after (the storm), it's unacceptable for tens of thousands of JCP&L customers to be without power in their homes. Every step must be taken to expedite repairs."

The governor also sent out a Tweet saying the state's "Ready NJ Recovery Bureau" also "deployed personnel to the counties hardest hit ... to conduct preliminary damage assessments" as part of the state's response.

“Like most of my neighbors, the lights in my business remain off and my wife said she’s sitting in a dark, cold office,” said Space (R-Sussex), owner of Space Farms Zoo and Museum. “How long do we have to wait until Gov. Murphy takes action? At least three governors have declared states of emergencies; Murphy just tweets.”

At one point, more than 4,000 JCP&L customers in Roxbury were without power. By mid-day Monday, that number had dwindled to about 1,665. The utility grid in the township's Landing section sustained major damage in the storm, with about a dozen utility poles wrecked by trees toppled due to heavy snow and high wind.

“It is my understanding that there are still about 90,000 residents without power even as crews work around-the-clock to clear snapped trees and power lines from clogged roadways,” said Bucco, in his statement. “The state needs to do something now to help our communities get back on their feet and protect our residents.” Bucco also serves as Roxbury's township attorney.

Rooney said declaring a state of emergency opens up sources of funding. "This can significantly impact municipal budgets which are due to come out in the next two to four weeks, “he said. “As a former mayor I know how much they need help and they need it now. The governor needs to be reactive. This is not effective leadership.”

The Morris County Office of Emergency Management, on Monday morning, said JCP&L "remains in Storm Restoration mode," noting there were more than 22,000 Morris County residents with no power, but adding the number "is a significant decrease to our outage numbers from yesterday, and we are pleased that progress has been made."

ROXBURY, NJ - Even a brief glance over Judy Caruso’s shoulder at the Mount Arlington Dunkin’ Donuts last Tuesday morning would make your head spin. The mishmash of blocks, colors and codes on her laptop looked more like a Picasso painting than an Excel spreadsheet.

WHIPPANY, NJ - Boy Scouts of America, Patriots’ Path Council will be honoring local community members at the Boy Scouts of America 23rd Annual Morris County Lifetime Achievement Awards Dinner to be held on the evening of April 19 at The Hanover Marriott in Whippany at 6:30 pm. This year’s honorees are Reynaldo Caudillo, Bruce Jones, Michael Lupton, Ron Morano, Lou ...

ROXBURY, NJ – The administrators of Roxbury High School and the Eisenhower Middle School are allowing students to participate in a 17-minute “walkout” at 10 a.m. tomorrow, an event billed by the organizers as a way for students to express concern about school safety.

The walkout comes a month after 17 people were shot to death at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in ...

On this episode of AtlantiCast, new clinical studies in the fields of cardiology and immunotherapy, national and statewide recognitions for Atlantic Health System medical centers and the inaugural AtlantiCast Collab Challenge!

When we drive east on Route 10 through Roxbury, many of us might remember a Shell station at the Randolph border next to the golf range. It was in that station that Nancy and Peyton Knight began their long history of auto repair in the township.

That was 1983 and soon the Knights’ business grew and expanded. The humble gas station gradually morphed into a state-of-the-art ...

Letters to TAPinto Roxbury

As we are approaching our busy season I would like to take the time to thank my customers for their continued business. We have had some customers with us for over 25 years. We do our best to provide them with top quality products. I know they have many options of places to go for apparel. (Some days it seems like a new place pops up every month!).

CONWAY, SC -- Brian Quilty of Succasunna, is among the 106 Professional Golf Management students at Coastal Carolina University with a 3.0 GPA or higher. A 2.0 GPA is required to remain enrolled in the program.

"Our PGA Golf Management Program students take their academics seriously and are committed to performing at a high level," said Will Mann, PGA, director of the ...

BALTIMORE, MD -- Two students from the Roxbury area made the Loyola University fall 2017 Dean's List.

In order to qualify for the Dean's List at Loyola, a student must achieve a minimum QPA of at least 3.500 for the term, provided that, in the term they have successfully completed courses totaling a minimum of 15 credits.

Press Releases

ROXBURY, NJ - One of our favorite things we do at Dezine Line in Ledgewood is offering tours to the local Girl Scout troops. We've done these since 1990 and must have seen 1,000 kids come thru. We have also had a few Boy Scouts and home school groups here as well!

The kids see how everything is done, step by step, and finish by printing their own tee shirts.